Ya know, even though they went to the Western Conference Finals, the Pheonix franchise is still a mess financially and without commitment.

Sean Burke made Bryzgalov not afraid of bears and got him to be a top flight goalie and a $50 million plus contract. He resurrected Mike Smith from a journeyman into an almost Vezina Trophy finalist this year.

It may not be Burke that the Pens hire or go after but what he did for Bryzgalov and Smith shows you the importance of having a strong goaltending coach. MAF would surely benefit from a good coach, no doubt!!

Nizzy wrote:The best goaltending coach that Shero can bring is would be a solid veteran goaltender to consistently push MAF/keep him sharp.

I agree MAF seems to need to be challenged by his backup but wouldn't undermine the effectiveness of a really good goalie coach. If you play goal you have an idea the kind of impact the right coach can have on your game, but as every goalie is different so are the coaches, finding a good match is also important.

Turco may not have tons left in the tank but was a legit starter with playoff experience and is vastly superior to MAF in terms of puckhandling. Combine that with the right coach and many of MAF's wrinkles could be ironed out.

I'm really thinking that, if the cap does hit near $70,000,000, Shero will want to spend some nice coin on a /backup, /motivation-possible-starter (i.e. a Josh Harding type) in the offseason. So long as he doesn't go to the 'clearance aisle' in free agency for a cheap backup G with missing parts.

Re-hire Shane Clifford. Or perhaps Ian Clark is available (Luongo's old coach)? It would be nice to get some better coaching from Bylsma as well. These "practices" where Fleury can just goof off for an hour are two are probably not making him better.

Nizzy wrote:The best goaltending coach that Shero can bring is would be a solid veteran goaltender to consistently push MAF/keep him sharp.

I personally think that MAF could benefit greatly from both!

MAF needs someone like this to keep him motivated...

Spoiler:

aka~ mee-shell Therrien... as pierre mcguire calls him.Flower played great except for april. crappy stat. With a healthy back-up it is still up to the coach to pull the starting goalie during games. Will Coach Dando that ?Flower could have use the time to regain equilibrium in games 1, 3

sil wrote:I'm really thinking that, if the cap does hit near $70,000,000, Shero will want to spend some nice coin on a /backup, /motivation-possible-starter (i.e. a Josh Harding type) in the offseason. So long as he doesn't go to the 'clearance aisle' in free agency for a cheap backup G with missing parts.

I don't disagree, but what some fans fail to realize is that a "Josh Harding type" has to want to sign here behind a goalie that he's seen play 60+ games. I'm not saying Harding is going to find a starting gig, but he's gonna want a situation where he can at least split time and maybe win the starting role...I'm not sure that Pittsburgh is going to offer that or make such a promise, so it can be difficult to find a goaltender like that. Though the importance of a quality backup and a good goalie coach (like Burke, who can teach him to stay up a little more possibly, maybe turn him into more of a hybrid...) can not be overstated...

sil wrote:I'm really thinking that, if the cap does hit near $70,000,000, Shero will want to spend some nice coin on a /backup, /motivation-possible-starter (i.e. a Josh Harding type) in the offseason. So long as he doesn't go to the 'clearance aisle' in free agency for a cheap backup G with missing parts.

I don't disagree, but what some fans fail to realize is that a "Josh Harding type" has to want to sign here behind a goalie that he's seen play 60+ games. I'm not saying Harding is going to find a starting gig, but he's gonna want a situation where he can at least split time and maybe win the starting role...I'm not sure that Pittsburgh is going to offer that or make such a promise, so it can be difficult to find a goaltender like that. Though the importance of a quality backup and a good goalie coach (like Burke, who can teach him to stay up a little more possibly, maybe turn him into more of a hybrid...) can not be overstated...

He's played his best hockey since he stopped going down like he'd been hit by a sniper's bullet on every shot. I'd be interested to see him go a little bit more hybrid.

Burke isn't going to leave Phoenix unless he wants to and from what I've read no one is really getting the sense that he does. The team knows what he brings to their goalies and isn't going to let him go without a fight, and he doesn't seem to want to go. But bringing in a different goalie coach? Totally for it, been wanting them to do it for a couple years.

sil wrote:I'm really thinking that, if the cap does hit near $70,000,000, Shero will want to spend some nice coin on a /backup, /motivation-possible-starter (i.e. a Josh Harding type) in the offseason. So long as he doesn't go to the 'clearance aisle' in free agency for a cheap backup G with missing parts.

I don't disagree, but what some fans fail to realize is that a "Josh Harding type" has to want to sign here behind a goalie that he's seen play 60+ games. I'm not saying Harding is going to find a starting gig, but he's gonna want a situation where he can at least split time and maybe win the starting role...I'm not sure that Pittsburgh is going to offer that or make such a promise, so it can be difficult to find a goaltender like that. Though the importance of a quality backup and a good goalie coach (like Burke, who can teach him to stay up a little more possibly, maybe turn him into more of a hybrid...) can not be overstated...

That's the dilemna with the Harding's of the world...or Shero will draft a couple goalies this June...though I don't have a ton of faith in that either. 3 more years of MAF in any case regardless.

I don't entirely agree with that. Give him a good defense and don't play him every game. Get him 55 games. If your backup is an albatross, get Fleury extra rest when the offense hot and win track meet type games. Thats how the team plays anyway under bylsma. Unfortunately thats also the problem with the defense.

Idoit40fans wrote:I don't entirely agree with that. Give him a good defense and don't play him every game. Get him 55 games. If your backup is an albatross, get Fleury extra rest when the offense hot and win track meet type games. Thats how the team plays anyway under bylsma. Unfortunately thats also the problem with the defense.

Idoit40fans wrote:I don't entirely agree with that. Give him a good defense and don't play him every game. Get him 55 games. If your backup is an albatross, get Fleury extra rest when the offense hot and win track meet type games. Thats how the team plays anyway under bylsma. Unfortunately thats also the problem with the defense.